Rural living and community – joy of rural county; strong community support; citizen involvement in politics; solid work force – reliable employees/strong work ethic; English ESL availability through library system; Catholic Charities; St. Vincent de Paul; Knights of Columbus; Diocesan Council of Catholic Women; strong family values; other lay volunteer associations; our Family; strong volunteer EMT and Fire services; trust; WCC strong relationship in legislature; good community support in crisis; cooperation amongst various denominations and assistance to their community

Parish community – supportive religious sisters and deacons; support the “Family Home Church”; gift of vocations to Church, religious, and military; aging services/Catholic Charities (CC) Care Teams; Music ministry; building Evangelization efforts (with diocesan support); good parish cooperation between worship sites and communities; keeping in touch with our education-bound students out of county; power of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; increased need to Pray for our Priest(s)

Stewardship of the land – dairy grazing apprenticeship; abundant natural resources; favorable water resources (sustenance and recreational); strong sense of stewardship to our generational legacy to our land

Parish priests – our pastor as Shepherd; Holy Mass; liturgy for Spanish speakers (limited); strong leadership of our pastor; an individual priest's limited time in multiple parish communities; frequent priest assignments are disruptive to developing relationships within our parish

Parishioners - Drawing Youth back to the parish, seeking best ways to assist our priest; exploring tech to reach our absent youth members; Mass attendance declining

Lay volunteers – senior citizens, as the volunteers and service to others; need to recruit younger volunteers across all parish ministries; care and upkeep of local parishes, shrines and church properties

Catholic schools – virtual high schools (live and local); skilled teaching staff; strong and supportive school community; Catholic School Produce Garden

Religious education/formation - develop Hispanic Community leadership training; consider parish staff and lay ministry training

Farming as a vocation - Growing network of Organic/natural Food Producers - growing Female Farmer's network; good work ethic; multiple skill sets across available work force; developing rural tourism opportunities; farm stand local produce; developing local community garden projects

The Bishop Hying Effect – diocesan offices providing service and resources to parish ministries; Bishop Hying draws us closer to our Lord and Savior; visibility of Bishop Hying throughout our Rural Diocese of Madison; holding Rural Listening sessions throughout Diocese; our Bishop Hying

Food, Fuel, and Fiber – food cost both in production and as consumers; need for additional food pantry support to meet the increasing demand; surrounded by growing and expanding urban areas with urban-centered concerns; rural food pantry concerns/client id clarified

Declining rural population – loss of parishes and their communities; loss of  small businesses; housing shortage; loneliness across all age demographics;  lack of youth/ young adult culture; difficulties of hiring and keeping young  employees

Youth exodus – limited options for children and youth programs, camps, and travel; Sunday Sports competing with Parish Liturgy/education programs (Sunday is Ours - family and faith); challenges to sustain youth oriented programs, Sunday sports programs drain parish of young members

Lack of employment opportunities – low living wages and teen starting wages; language difficulties

Lack of job training - Lower base wages in rural counties; worker shortage for employment; lack of Peer Leadership

Limited support and family services - Daily tensions of individual farming choices in a more complex and unforgiving economy- need for mental health programs; lack of affordable and safe childcare and senior-care; more Hispanic Clergy and Spanish Pastoral services; Evangelical Hispanic Churches; understaffed County social services

Rural health issues – hospital/rural clinic employee shortages; high cost of healthcare for farmers; poverty is hidden within rural counties; Hispanic health care services; good primary care; lack of free time (for individuals and families); our isolated Seniors and their basic needs

Lack of counseling services availability – reaching farmers in mental, spiritual, and physical distress; drug and alcohol abuse; depression and farmer suicide prevention; access to marriage and family counseling services; sexual orientation confusion; need for Women's Shelter and services, mental health needs and treatment options (both secular and Catholic faith-based counseling services

Dwindling financial options – mileage covered in rural counties with inflated gas/fuel cost; farm estate planning difficulties; crop insurance; banking consolidation limiting small local bank options; fuel cost with greater distance to travel for all rural needs and activities

Resource challenges - high and increasing land prices; government farm policy and excessive regulation; urban annexing of farm land; tax policies not favorable to farmers and rural communities; over regulation of production by state government; limited Catholic education for youth; need for a Catholic resource guide; limited professional services; limited access to groceries and fuel; limited rental/lease of local farm land- high prices; wind and solar farms challenging food production

Infrastructure challenges – no public mass transit for all people- especially seniors; limited WIFI/cell phone availability; impact of alternative energy and its production; poor roads in production areas; housing shortages (rental and private); limited locker/slaughter house facilities creates a production backlog; Catholic Radio service unobtainable outside Madison; lack of Hispanic Catholic Radio services; poor cell phone reception outside rural communities